Memories and Nightmares from a Taunted Soul
by StormOfTheWinter'sEye
Summary: That one taunted soul that touched so many others. That one and only... Kikyo...  The Final Act...ONESHOT. For both Kikyo and Kagome lovers. You don't choose sides? Perfect!  Read, Review, and Enjoy!


Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. Rumiko Takahashi does. SHE IS GOD!

A/N: I wrote this as sort of a spur of the moment type thing; strictly one-shot. It shows InuYasha's feelings when Kikyo died in his arms in The Final Act, and how he feels it affects Kagome.

**Memories and Nightmares from a Taunted Soul**

"_Back then… Do you remember InuYasha? Long before Naraku tore us apart…" Kikyo said to me. She looked so frail and broken in my arms as I held her._

_My Kikyo, usually so strong and independent was now like an old beaten ragdoll in my hands, her breathing shallow and labored._

_I tried so hard, so hard not to hold her too tightly, not to break the poor glasslike soul in my arms, but my grip tightened on her anyways._

_Why Kikyo? Why did it have to happen like this? Why did it have to **end** like this?_

"_How could I forget that? Back then, I was ready to turn into a human and live with you." Saying those words hurt. I wouldn't hide that. There are many things in this world that can damage a person; human and demon-kind alike. But nothing hurts worse than using a past tense word to describe a future that you had planned with the woman you love._

_Nothing…_

_Kikyo closed her eyes and smiled. She smiled, happily and content at a moment like that! I envied her; so strong, yet so fragile; a little bird with broken wings, yet that bird, a Flacon; its beauty never amounting enough to its strength, but then, to ponder once more life was not for Kikyo to possess anymore, for she had already lived hers; though it was much too short._

_But why? Why was this to be for her? Snatched from her peaceful rest only to be shoved into the world of the living once more! And then die for the third time!_

_Why her?_

"_I have finally become an ordinary woman…" she whispered smiling, her pale face dusted with dirt, blood, and sweat._

"_Kikyo…" I whispered. She didn't deserve to die like this. For all the good she had done for people—the good she had done for me… She at least deserved to die somewhere warm and inside; not out here in the outdoors on a cold, icy night. And Damn it all, she deserved better than me! _

"_You were the first woman whom I ever cared for. And yet…" I said clutching her tighter, my throat burning and my eyes stinging; and thus I cried; cried for all I was worth. "I couldn't do anything for you."_

"_This is the first time I've ever seen you cry, InuYasha." She said looking at me shocked._

"_Kikyo, I…" I said, I couldn't bare it; Brave woman. Brave, brave, woman; how did I come across such a creature? I thought I would never get that lucky in my life, but there you were, Kikyo. "I couldn't save you!" I sobbed, letting the tears fall freely._

"_You came for me," she said. I looked down at her and saw her smile. "That's enough." She said._

"_Kikyo…" I pulled her up with me and kissed her; the last kiss we would ever share and I greedily took my time. Took my time to show her, that after everything that has happened, I never lost hope that I would hold her like this, I never forgot how it felt to love her, and even long after she would be gone, I would never forget her._

_I felt moisture against my cheeks and I realized she was crying._

_We pulled apart unwillingly yet knowingly, and just like that Kikyo glowed with a blinding white light and floated up._

_Her soul raced toward the world, as if—as if she were saying goodbye._

"_It's so warm," I heard Kagome whisper, and yes, it truly was in the sense of a miracle finally leaving world, for it had defeated its purpose._

_I couldn't shake the feeling that, as Kagome bowed her head as Kikyo's Light passed over her, that Kikyo—Kikyo was talking to her; passing her will onto her._

_The soul collector carried her soul higher and higher into the starry sky, until she was gone._

_And then… I let her go._

_Just like that…_

I wake up from that troubling nightmare; or was it memory? I don't know. But I'm glad I'm finally on the ground again.

I look over to the sleeping figure.

Good, she's still here, Kagome.

I had fallen in love with her, married her, and am expecting our first child with her. But as I think about it, I never asked her about how she felt about Kikyo's death.

She sighs and twitches in her sleep. She whispers my name and I smile.

I crawl over to her and kiss her forehead before wrapping the blankets around her, swaddling her like an infant and pulling her to continue her sleep in my arms.

_Kikyo, my Kikyo._ I used to think, but my thoughts have evolved to _Kagome, my Kagome. _Ah, yes, that thought appeals to me.

Kagome makes me happy.

I think Kikyo would have wanted that for me.

Perhaps that was what her intentions were all along… to leave this world so I could be happy with Kagome.

I can't exactly put it into words, but as I think back, it was all meant to happen I guess.

I snuggle close to my Kagome and listen to her breathing: deep and easy. She feels strong and healthy; her face is completely free of any weakness or debris. Seeing this, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

_Kikyo, thank you, _I silently pray to her.

I loved Kikyo, yes that is true.

But I love another now, and it's all thanks to her; that brave, brave woman; that little bird with the broken wings.

That one taunted soul that touched so many others.

That one and only… Kikyo…

A/N: FYI, I was never really a Kikyo fan, but I just had to think about what it would be like to be a person who is watching my first love, die in my arms. So, even though ppl everywhere hav their reasons to dislike her, don't hate on Kikyo until you've really thought about what her situation was and how hard it would be to die, live, die, live, and die again. (I mean seriously.) Review…don't review… idk I grant you ur freedom though it would make me sooo happy. Plz no flames!

Stormy loves you.


End file.
